Published on Web 03/26/2010
Chemistry and Biology of Deoxynyboquinone, a Potent Inducer of Cancer Cell Death Joseph S. Bair, Rahul Palchaudhuri, and Paul J. Hergenrother* Department of Chemistry, Roger Adams Laboratory, UniVersity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 Received January 22, 2010; E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract: Deoxynyboquinone (DNQ) is a potent antineoplastic agent with an unknown mechanism of action. Here we describe a facile synthetic route to this anthraquinone, and we use this material to determine the mechanism by which DNQ induces death in cancer cells. DNQ was synthesized in seven linear steps through a route employing three palladium-mediated coupling reactions. Experiments performed on cancer cells grown in hypoxia and normoxia strongly suggest that DNQ undergoes bioreduction to its semiquinone, which then is re-oxidized by molecular oxygen, forming superoxide that induces cell death. Furthermore, global transcript profiling of cells treated with DNQ shows elevation of transcripts related to oxidative stress, a result confirmed at the protein level by Western blotting. In contrast to most other antineoplastic agents that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNQ potently induces death of cancer cells in culture, with IC50 values between 16 and 210 nM. In addition, unlike the experimental therapeutic elesclomol, DNQ is still able to induce cancer cell death under hypoxic conditions. This mechanistic understanding of DNQ will allow for a more comprehensive evaluation of the potential of direct ROS generation as an anticancer strategy, and DNQ itself has potential as a novel anticancer agent.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated through mechanisms incidental to cellular respiration, or from environmental insults such as UV irradiation.1 The predominant initial reactive species is the superoxide radical anion (O2•-), produced by the one-electron reduction of molecular oxygen, generally by mitochondrial complex I or III of the electron transport chain. As part of the endogenous antioxidant system, superoxide dismutase converts superoxide radicals into less reactive hydrogen peroxide, which is further degraded to water and oxygen by catalase or reduced by glutathione as mediated by glutathione peroxidase. Cancer cells are known to have elevated levels of ROS.2 This increase is due in large part to increased metabolism and, hence, increased superoxide formation in the mitochondria. The role of hydrogen peroxide in activating pro-growth pathways3-6 is consistent with evidence that suggests increased ROS levels correlate with aggressive tumor growth.2-4 It has been postulated that disrupting the equilibrium concentration of ROS in cancer cells may be an effective anticancer strategy.2,5-8 The cancer-selective toxicity of enhanced ROS levels rests on the (1) Trachootham, D.; Lu, W.; Ogasawara, M. A.; Nilsa, R. D.; Huang, P. Antioxid Redox Signal 2008, 10, 1343–1374. (2) Trachootham, D.; Alexandre, J.; Huang, P. Nat. ReV. Drug DiscoVery 2009, 8, 579–591. (3) Fruehauf, J. P.; Meyskens, F. L., Jr. Clin. Cancer Res. 2007, 13, 789– 794. (4) Gupta, A.; Rosenberger, S. F.; Bowden, G. T. Carcinogenesis 1999, 20, 2063–2073. (5) Cabello, C. M.; Bair, W. B., III; Wondrak, G. T. Curr. Opin. InVestig. Drugs 2007, 8, 1022–1037. (6) Kong, Q.; Beel, J. A.; Lillehei, K. O. Med. Hypotheses 2000, 55, 29– 35. (7) Nicco, C.; Laurent, A.; Chereau, C.; Weill, B.; Batteux, F. Biomed. Pharmacother. 2005, 59, 169–174. (8) Wondrak, G. T. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 2009, 11, 3013–3069. 10.1021/ja100610m 2010 American Chemical Society
notion that cancer cells already have elevated ROS levels and therefore have a reduced antioxidant capacity relative to normal cells.2,7 Thus, an increase in ROS sufficient to kill cancer cells would still be within the antioxidant capacity of healthy cells. There is reasonable data to support this hypothesis, and indeed a handful of compounds whose mode of action is strongly related to ROS induction are in advanced clinical trials (elesclomol, fenretinide, motexafin gadolinium, menadione, β-lapachone) or are FDA approved (As2O3) for the treatment of cancer (Figure 1A).8-10 Notably, fenretinide,11,12 motexafin gadolinium,13 menadione,14-19 β-lapachone,20,21 and As2O322-25 (9) Terai, K.; Dong, G. Z.; Oh, E. T.; Park, M. T.; Gu, Y.; Song, C. W.; Park, H. J. Anticancer Drugs 2009, 20, 901–909. (10) Hill, D. S.; Martin, S.; Armstrong, J. L.; Flockhart, R.; Tonison, J. J.; Simpson, D. G.; Birch-Machin, M. A.; Redfern, C. P.; Lovat, P. E. Clin. Cancer Res. 2009, 15, 1192–1198. (11) Sun, S. Y.; Li, W.; Yue, P.; Lippman, S. M.; Hong, W. K.; Lotan, R. Cancer Res. 1999, 59, 2493–2498. (12) Batra, S.; Reynolds, C. P.; Maurer, B. J. Cancer Res. 2004, 64, 5415– 5424. (13) Evens, A. M.; Lecane, P.; Magda, D.; Prachand, S.; Singhal, S.; Nelson, J.; Miller, R. A.; Gartenhaus, R. B.; Gordon, L. I. Blood 2005, 105, 1265–1273. (14) Keyes, S. R.; Rockwell, S.; Sartorelli, A. C. Cancer Res. 1989, 49, 3310–3313. (15) Chen, Q.; Cederbaum, A. I. Mol. Pharmacol. 1997, 52, 648–657. (16) Vallis, K. A.; Wolf, C. R. Carcinogenesis 1996, 17, 649–654. (17) Beck, R.; Verrax, J.; Dejeans, N.; Taper, H.; Calderon, P. B. Int. J. Toxicol. 2009, 28, 33–42. (18) Chlebowski, R. T.; Dietrich, M.; Akman, S.; Block, J. B. Cancer Treat. Rep. 1985, 69, 527–532. (19) Prasad, K. N.; Edwards-Prasad, J.; Sakamoto, A. Life Sci. 1981, 29, 1387–1392. (20) Li, Y.; Sun, X.; LaMont, J. T.; Pardee, A. B.; Li, C. J. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2003, 100, 2674–2678. (21) Pink, J. J.; Planchon, S. M.; Tagliarino, C.; Varnes, M. E.; Siegel, D.; Boothman, D. A. J. Biol. Chem. 2000, 275, 5416–5424. J. AM. CHEM. SOC. 2010, 132, 5469–5478
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Figure 1. (A) Anticancer experimental therapeutics that have ROS generation as part of their mechanism of cell death induction. (B) Quinones can be bioreduced to semiquinones via a one-electron process. In the presence of oxygen the quinone can be regenerated, forming superoxide. Alternatively, a two-electron bioreduction of quinones to leads to the hydroquinone anion.36 Figure 2. (A) Some anticancer quinones. (B) The structures of DNQ and
are relatively modest inducers of death in cancer cells, with IC50 values in the low micromolar range versus cancer cell lines in culture. Importantly, some of the most drug-refractory cancers are known to have the highest levels of ROS, including metastatic melanoma and pancreatic cancer.8,26-28 A mechanism for intracellular ROS generation is the bioreduction and subsequent oxidation of a quinone, typically occurring through a one-electron mechanism (Figure 1B). The semiquinone can then be oxidized by molecular oxygen, forming superoxide and the parent quinone. A complicating factor in (22) Karlsson, J.; Edsjo, A.; Pahlman, S.; Pettersson, H. M. Mol. Cancer Ther. 2005, 4, 1128–1135. (23) Qu, G. P.; Xiu, Q. Y.; Li, B.; Liu, Y. A.; Zhang, L. Z. Toxicol. Ind. Health 2009, 25, 505–515. (24) Du, Y. H.; Ho, P. C. Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 2001, 47, 481– 490. (25) Maeda, H.; Hori, S.; Ohizumi, H.; Segawa, T.; Kakehi, Y.; Ogawa, O.; Kakizuka, A. Cell Death Differ. 2004, 11, 737–746. (26) Du, J.; Daniels, D. H.; Asbury, C.; Venkataraman, S.; Liu, J.; Spitz, D. R.; Oberley, L. W.; Cullen, J. J. J. Biol. Chem. 2006, 281, 37416– 37426. (27) Teoh, M. L.; Sun, W.; Smith, B. J.; Oberley, L. W.; Cullen, J. J. Clin. Cancer Res. 2007, 13, 7441–7450. (28) Fruehauf, J. P.; Trapp, V. Exp. ReV. Anticancer Ther. 2008, 8, 1751– 1757. 5470
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SCH 538415.
determining the value of quinone redox cycling in cancer therapy is that quinone-containing anticancer agents (Figure 2A) typically have other more important modes of action such as DNA alkylation (e.g., mitomycin C, EO9),29-32 Hsp90 inhibition (e.g., geldanamycin),7,33 and topoisomerase inhibition (e.g., streptonigrin, doxorubicin, mitoxantrone).34,35 These mixed modes of action make it difficult to assess the effectiveness of a single anticancer strategy. Anthraquinone 1 (Figure 2B) was originally synthesized during studies of the antibiotic nybomycin;37 we have named (29) Beall, H. D.; Winski, S. L. Frontiers Biosci. 2000, 5, 639–648. (30) McKeown, S. R.; Cowen, R. L.; Williams, K. J. Clin. Oncol. 2007, 19, 427–442. (31) Colucci, M. A.; Moody, C. J.; Couch, G. D. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2008, 6, 637–656. (32) Danson, S.; Ward, T. H.; Butler, J.; Ranson, M. Cancer Treatment ReV. 2004, 30, 437–449. (33) Clark, C. B.; Rane, M. J.; El Mehdi, D.; Miller, C. J.; Sachleben, L. R., Jr.; Gozal, E. Free Rad. Biol. Med. 2009, 47, 1440–1449. (34) Wang, H.; Mao, Y.; Zhou, N.; Hu, T.; Hsieh, T.-S.; Liu, L. F. J. Biol. Chem. 2001, 276, 15990–15995. (35) Bolzan, A. D.; Bianchi, M. S. Mutat. Res. 2001, 488, 25–37. (36) Gutierrez, P. L. Frontiers Biosci. 2000, 5, 629–638.
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Scheme 1. Retrosynthetic Analysis of SCH 538415
this compound deoxynyboquinone (DNQ). The only published biological study on DNQ showed that it potently induces apoptosis in cancer cell lines through cytochrome c release.38 Although cells treated with DNQ contained ROS, it was not known if ROS was a cause or effect of the antineoplastic activity of DNQ.38 A nearly identical compound, SCH 538415, is a natural product that has recently been isolated and characterized (compound 2, Figure 2B).39,40 Interestingly, assays reveal DNQ to be ∼10-fold more potent in inducing death of cancer cells than SCH 538415,38,39 although they differ in structure by only a single methyl group. Intrigued by the potency of DNQ and the potential of ROSgenerating compounds as anticancer agents, we sought to develop a concise and modular synthesis of DNQ and to use the resulting material in mode-of-action studies. Herein is detailed a convenient synthetic route to DNQ, followed by the evaluation of this compound in a battery of biological experiments. These experiments reveal DNQ to be an extremely potent antineoplastic agent that induces death of cancer cells primarily through a ROS-based mechanism, likely due to a uniquely stable semiquinone species that enables facile ROS generation. As the only known quinone that potently induces cancer cell death predominately through a ROS-based mechanism, DNQ will be an excellent tool by which to further probe the value of direct ROS generation as an anticancer strategy and itself has potential as a therapeutic agent. Results Synthesis. The synthesis of SCH 538415 was first developed and then applied to the nonsymmetric DNQ. Although synthetic routes analogous to those used to make structurally related compounds were considered,41-43 we ultimately elected to (37) Rinehart, K. L.; Renfroe, H. B. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1961, 83, 3729– 3731. (38) Tudor, G.; Gutierrez, P.; Aguilera-Gutierrez, A.; Sausville, E. A. Biochem. Pharmacol. 2003, 65, 1061–1075. (39) Pettit, G. R.; Du, J.; Pettit, R. K.; Richert, L. A.; Hogan, F.; Mukku, V. J. R. V.; Hoard, M. S. J. Nat. Prod. 2006, 69, 804–806. (40) Chu, M.; Mierzwa, R.; Xu, L.; Yang, S. W.; He, L.; Patel, M.; Stafford, J.; Macinga, D.; Black, T.; Chan, T. M.; Gullo, V. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2003, 13, 3827–3829. (41) Kelly, T. R.; Field, J. A.; Li, Q. Tetrahedron Lett. 1988, 29, 3545– 3546. (42) Perez, J. M.; Lopez-Alvarado, P.; Avendano, C.; Menendez, J. C. Tetrahedron Lett. 1998, 39, 673–676. (43) Perez, J. M.; Lopez-Alvarado, P.; Pascual-Alfonso, E.; Avendano, C.; Menendez, J. C. Tetrahedron 2000, 56, 4575–4583.
devise a new route to the diazaanthraquinones that draws heavily on palladium-mediated cross-couplings, shown retrosynthetically for SCH 538415 in Scheme 1. Tricycle 3 was envisioned through an intramolecular aryl amidation of intermediate 4 preceded by a double intermolecular Suzuki coupling between vinyl iodide 5 and aryl bis(pinacolboronate) 6. Bisboronate 6 would be formed by a double Miyaura borylation of tetrahalide 7, which was predicted to arise from a double directed orthometalation/silylation of 2,6-dichloroanisole to make 8 followed by iododesilylation by an electrophilic iodine reagent. Isomerically pure β-iodoamide coupling partner 5 was easily accessed on a multigram scale starting from ethyl 2-butynoate (Scheme 2). Direct amidation with methylamine in methanol produced alkyne 9 in 87% yield. Treatment of 9 with sodium iodide in acetic acid produced 5 in 96% yield, with only the Z-isomer being detected by NMR.44 The specific disposition of halides in compound 7 was envisioned to arise through directed ortho-lithiation of 2,6dichloroanisole. As diiodination under such conditions is difficult, intermediate disilane 8 was targeted. Chloride is known to be a weak directing group for ortho-lithiation but has been successfully utilized in a number of settings.45,46 However, lithium-chloride exchange appeared to be the dominant reaction in a variety of n- and sec-butyllithium-mediated reactions, presumably due to the strong directing effects of the methoxy group. Fortunately, deprotonation with lithium diisopropyl amide (LDA) was both efficient and selective for the 3- and 5-positions (Scheme 2). In addition, the two-step sequence could be carried out in one pot. Trimethylsilyl chloride was an effective in situ quench reagent, with highest conversions when additions of reagent were sequential, beginning with LDA.47 Iododesilylation of 8 by the action of iodine monochloride was rapid and quantitative, producing 7. Miyaura borylation conditions then provided cross-coupling partner 6 in good yield but contaminated with variable amounts of bis(pinacolborane).48 The two-step yield after the subsequent cross-coupling was higher when 6 was used without purification; thus, after workup, 6 was typically taken directly into the cross(44) Piers, E.; Wong, T.; Coish, P. D.; Rogers, C. Can. J. Chem. 1994, 72, 1816–1819. (45) Beak, P.; Brown, R. A. J. Org. Chem. 1982, 47, 34–46. (46) Sanz, R.; Castroviejo, M. P.; Fernandez, Y.; Fananas, F. J. J. Org. Chem. 2005, 70, 6548–6551. (47) Lulinski, S.; Serwatowski, J. J. Org. Chem. 2003, 68, 9384–9388. (48) Ishiyama, T.; Murata, M.; Miyaura, N. J. Org. Chem. 1995, 60, 7508– 7510. J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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Scheme 2. Total Synthesis of SCH 538415
coupling. The Suzuki coupling between 5 and 6 is a challenging process representing two individual cross-coupling events and linking a relatively unactivated aryl boronate with base-sensitive vinyl iodides. This reaction provided product 4 in a 55% yield. A brief survey of known conditions for aryl chloride coupling with amides revealed a Pd/X-Phos precatalyst recently described by Buchwald,49 and this reagent was used to convert 4 to diazaanthracene 3 in 96% yield. Oxidation of 3 by brief heating in concentrated nitric acid produced SCH 538415 as a bright red-orange solid in 40% yield. By this route the first total synthesis of the natural product was completed in six steps and 9.7% overall yield from 2,6-dichloroanisole. Spectral data matched those of the natural product (see Supporting Information). To apply this route to the synthesis of DNQ, primary amide 11 was synthesized but found to be an unreactive partner in the Suzuki coupling with 6 (Scheme 3). The N-p-methoxybenzyl amide 13 was then synthesized in 82% yield from 2-butynoic acid by hydroiodination44,50 and treatment of the corresponding acid chloride with p-methoxybenzyl amine (Scheme 3). This route was employed because the reaction of ethyl 2-butynoate with p-methoxybenzyl amine resulted primarily in 1,4-addition to the alkyne. A mixed cross-coupling between bisboronate 6 and iodoamides 5 and 13 was found to be the simplest method to form the nonsymmetric diamide 14. Separation of 14 from the accompanying symmetric products was easily effected by chromatography. Aryl amidation under the previously employed conditions efficiently formed tricycle 15 along with variable amounts of unprotected amide 16. Isolation at this step was unnecessary, as subjection of the crude amidation products to
acidic hydrolysis produced 17 in 76% yield over two steps. Oxidation of 17 catalyzed by salcomine under O2 produced DNQ in 77% yield. The synthesis of DNQ consisted of seven steps in the longest linear sequence, 12% overall yield. This compares to 11 steps and 10 12.5 ( 0.7 3.2 ( 1.9 β-lapachone 1.0 ( 0.4 1.5 ( 0.1 0.72 ( 0.26 As2O3 2.8 ( 1.0 5.9 ( 1.6 3.7 ( 1.6 a Cell lines were incubated with compound for 72 h, biomass was quantified using the SRB assay, and IC50 values were calculated from logistical dose-response curves. All IC50 values are in µM. Error is standard deviation of the mean, n g 3. b Cell viability assessed by the MTS assay.
process. To explore the connection between ROS and cell death, cytotoxicity evaluations were made in the presence of antioxidants and under different partial pressures of O2. Antioxidants can quench ROS, and thus antioxidant treatment may decrease the cytotoxicity of an anticancer compound for which ROS is critical to cell death. In a similar fashion, if a compound generates cytotoxic ROS through redox cycling with O2 (Figure 1B), cells grown in hypoxia should be less sensitive to the effect of the compound. Thus, the effects of DNQ and other cytotoxins were evaluated against HeLa cells in normoxia (∼20% O2), in the presence of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC, 5 mM), under hypoxia (1% O2), or combined with NAC under hypoxia. Tirapazamine, a compound whose cytotoxicity is more pronounced under hypoxia,30,53-55 was utilized as a control. The most striking results were found for DNQ and elesclomol (Table 2 and Figure 3). NAC provided significant protection (53) Brown, J. M.; Wilson, W. R. Nat. ReV. Cancer 2004, 4, 437–447. (54) Zeman, E. M.; Brown, J. M.; Lemmon, M. J.; Hirst, V. K.; Lee, W. W. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys 1986, 12, 1239–1242. (55) Koch, C. J. Cancer Res. 1993, 53, 3992–3997.
Table 2. IC50 Values for Compounds versus HeLa Cells under
Normoxic (20% O2) and Hypoxic (1% O2) Conditions in the Presence and in the Absence of NACa normoxia
normoxia + 5 mM NAC
0.75 ( 0.06 fc ) 3.8 SCH 538415 1.40 ( 0.25 1.4 ( 0.2 fc ) 1.0 DOX 0.10 ( 0.02 0.12 ( 0.02 fc ) 1.2 etoposide 1.3 ( 0.7 1.2 ( 0.2 fc ) 1.1 mitomycin C 0.10 ( 0.03 0.14 ( 0.04 fc ) 1.40 menadione 5.9 ( 1.2 19.0 ( 2.4 fc ) 3.5 As2O3 1.30 ( 0.25 3.7 ( 1.2 fc ) 2.9 β-lapachone 1.2 ( 0.2 1.6 ( 0.5 fc ) 1.3 fenretinide 4.4 ( 1.2 4.0 ( 0.5 fc ) -1.1 elesclomol 0.012 ( 0.004 0.26 ( 0.21 fc ) 20 tirapazamine 38 ( 6 42 ( 9 fc ) 1.1 DNQ
0.20 ( 0.02
hypoxia
hypoxia + 5 mM NAC
1.80 ( 0.44 fc ) 8.4 5.2 ( 2.4 fc ) 3.6 0.05 ( 0.01 fc ) -2.2 0.52 ( 0.17 fc ) -2.1 0.06 ( 0.02 fc ) -1.5 7.0 ( 0.7 fc ) 1.3 2.3 ( 1.1 fc ) 1.8 3.8 ( 1.0 fc ) 3.2 4.40 ( 0.95 fc ) 1.0 Xb
5.1 ( 1.3 fc ) 26 7.9 ( 3.9 fc ) 5.4 0.07 ( 0.03 fc ) -1.4 0.64 ( 0.27 fc ) -1.6 0.12 ( 0.04 fc ) 1.3 22.0 ( 5.4 fc ) 4.0 6.0 ( 1.8 fc ) 4.5 6.1 ( 3.2 fc ) 5.4 3.90 ( 0.87 fc ) -1.1 X
1.9 ( 0.3 fc ) -20
2.10 ( 0.06 fc ) -18
a Fold change (fc) is with respect to normoxia. Cells were treated with compounds for 48 h, biomass was quantified using the SRB assay, and IC50 values were calculated from logistical dose-response curves. All IC50 values are in µM. Error is standard deviation of the mean, n g 3. b X indicates that cells were >50% viable at every concentration.
from both DNQ- and elesclomol-induced toxicity (4- and 20fold, respectively).56 Incubation under hypoxia also strongly protected the cells from these two compounds, but whereas complete cell death was still observed at the highest concentration of DNQ (10 µM), elesclomol-treated hypoxic cells were J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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Figure 3. Effect of DNQ and elesclomol on HeLa cells in hypoxia and normoxia, and in the presence of NAC. Cells were treated with compound for 48 h, and death was determined via the SRB assay. Error is standard deviation of the mean, n g 3.
>50% alive even at the highest concentrations (Figure 3). When co-treated with NAC under hypoxic conditions, elesclomol was essentially nontoxic, whereas DNQ, although 25-fold less toxic than under normoxic conditions, still caused ∼60% cell death at 10 µM (Figure 3). These results suggest that DNQ induces cell death through a ROS-based mechanism that relies on the production of superoxide radical anion from O2. SCH 538415 responded less strongly than DNQ in these assays, with no protection being observed by co-treatment with NAC (Table 2). The behavior of the other compounds was generally consistent with literature reports (Table 2): tirapazamine became significantly more toxic under 1% O2, whereas the toxicity of mitomycin C (known to require more severe hypoxia to increase in potency)57 remained unchanged. As expected, both menadione and arsenic trioxide were less toxic in the presence of NAC.22,23,58,59 The remaining compounds are known to display variable and cell linedependent effects under these conditions.12,14-17,60-62 (56) Kirshner, J. R.; He, S.; Balasubramanyam, V.; Kepros, J.; Yang, C.Y.; Zhang, M.; Du, Z.; Barsoum, J.; Bertin, J. Mol. Cancer Ther. 2008, 7, 2319–2327. (57) Marshall, R. S.; Rauth, A. M. Cancer Res. 1986, 46, 2709–2713. (58) Maeda, H.; Hori, S.; Nishitoh, H.; Ichijo, H.; Ogawa, O.; Kakehi, Y.; Kakizuka, A. Cancer Res. 2001, 61, 5432–5440. (59) Kim, Y. H.; Park, E. J.; Han, S. T.; Park, J. W.; Kwon, T. K. Life Sci. 2005, 77, 2783–2793. (60) Gupta, V.; Costanzi, J. J. Cancer Res. 1987, 47, 2407–2412. 5474
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Transcript Profiling. To further investigate the mechanism by which DNQ induces death in cancer cells, cells treated with DNQ were analyzed by global transcript profiling, and the pattern of transcriptional response was compared to that of compounds with known modes of action. For this experiment, U-937 cells were treated with DNQ or vehicle control at 350 nM for 6 h, at which point the mRNA was harvested and whole genome transcript profiling was performed using the Illumina HumanHT-12 array. This DNQ concentration and time point were chosen such that the data could be readily compared with the transcript profile data from cells treated with other compounds, as outlined in the Connectivity Map.63 The Connectivity Map consists of transcript profile data for >1300 compounds, many of which have known cellular targets. Previous studies have shown that, in many cases, compounds with similar modes of action will induce similar patterns of transcriptional response in cells.63,64 Comparing the transcript profile of DNQ with those compounds in the Connectivity Map database63 showed that none of the >1300 compounds strongly correlate with DNQ (see Supporting Information Figure 1). Importantly, the Connectivity Map database contains hundreds of cytotoxins and multiple quinones including doxorubicin, daunorubicin, and mitoxantrone. The top 20 up-regulated and repressed genes in response to DNQ treatment are listed in Table 3. The largest individual transcript elevated upon treatment of U-937 lymphoma cells with DNQ was from the HMOX1 gene, encoding the antioxidant enzyme heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) (8.8-fold change, Table 3). HO-1, a 32 kDa heat-shock protein, regulates cellular heme and iron concentrations.65,66 Elevated levels of this protein prevent cell death by converting heme to biliverdin, a potent antioxidant.67 This conversion also results in the production of carbon monoxide (a potential neurotransmitter) and free iron, which serves as an oxidative stress signal.65 Biliverdin produced by heme oxygenase is rapidly degraded into bilirubin, another potent small-molecule antioxidant.67 Other transcripts elevated in DNQ-treated cells include those for various ferritins, which are under the transcriptional control of NRF2, a transcription factor that may be activated under oxidative stress.68 Ferritins are responsible for the storage of free iron in a non-toxic and soluble form.68 Other oxidative stress-related transcripts that are also elevated include oxidative stress-induced growth inhibitor 1 (OKL38) and sulfiredoxin 1 homologue (SRXN1).69,70 The NRF2-oxidative stress pathway was also the pathway most strongly implicated by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software (see Supporting Information Figure 2). In summary, global tran(61) Salustiano, E. J.; Netto, C. D.; Fernandes, R. F.; da Silva, A. J.; Bacelar, T. S.; Castro, C. P.; Buarque, C. D.; Maia, R. C.; Rumjanek, V. M.; Costa, P. R. InVest. New Drugs 2010, 28, 139–144. (62) Reinicke, K. E.; Bey, E. A.; Bentle, M. S.; Pink, J. J.; Ingalls, S. T.; Hoppel, C. L.; Misico, R. I.; Arzac, G. M.; Burton, G.; Bornmann, W. G.; Sutton, D.; Gao, J.; Boothman, D. A. Clin. Cancer Res. 2005, 11, 3055–3064. (63) Lamb, J.; et al. Science 2006, 313, 1929–1935. (64) Gheeya, J.; Johansson, P.; Chen, Q. R.; Dexheimer, T.; Metaferia, B.; Song, Y. K.; Wei, J. S.; He, J.; Pommier, Y.; Khan, J. Cancer Lett 2010, epub ahead of print (DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2010.01.004). (65) Gozzelino, R.; Jeney, V.; Soares, M. P. Annu. ReV. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 2010, 50, 323–354. (66) Shibahara, S. Tohoku J. Exp. Med. 2003, 200, 167–186. (67) Stocker, R.; Yamamoto, Y.; McDonagh, A. F.; Glazer, A. N.; Ames, B. N. Science 1987, 235, 1043–1046. (68) Pietsch, E. C.; Chan, J. Y.; Torti, F. M.; Torti, S. V. J. Biol. Chem. 2003, 278, 2361–2369. (69) Li, R.; Chen, W.; Yanes, R.; Lee, S.; Berliner, J. A. J. Lipid Res. 2007, 48, 709–715. (70) Soriano, F. X.; Baxter, P.; Murray, L. M.; Sporn, M. B.; Gillingwater, T. H.; Hardingham, G. E. Mol. Cells 2009, 27, 279–282.
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Table 3. Top 20 Elevated and Repressed Transcripts from Treatment of U-937 Cells with DNQ versus 0.2% DMSO for 6 ha symbol
protein
HMOX1 ADM IL8b IL8b DDIT4 FTH1 CDKN1A FTHL12 FTHL8 SLC2A3 TNF OKL38 FTHL11 FTHL2 CCL3L3 SRXN1 MAFB
heme oxygenase 1 adrenomedullin interleukin 8 interleukin 8 DNA damage inducible transcript 4 ferritin, heavy polypeptide-like 1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A ferritin, heavy polypeptide-like 12 ferritin, heavy polypeptide-like 8 facilitative glucose transporter tumor necrosis factor oxidative stress induced growth inhibitor 1 ferritin, heavy polypeptide-like 11 ferritin, heavy polypeptide-like 2 G0/G1 switch regulatory protein 19-2 sulfiredoxin 1 homologue V-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homologue B G0/G1 switch regulatory protein 19-1 glucose transporter type 14 N-myc downstream-regulated 1 variably charged protein X-B1 variably charged protein X-C variably charged protein X-A gap junction protein β 2 CD20 antigen retinoblastoma-binding protein 9 zinc finger, FYVE domain containing 26 3-R-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase RNA binding motif protein 17 chondrocyte-derived ezrin-like protein coiled-coil domain containing 2 CD47 molecule myocyte enhancer factor 2D coiled-coil domain containing 136 interferon-inducible cytokine IP-10 centromere protein E CD20 antigen mitotic kinesin-like protein 2 thioredoxin-binding protein 2 GRB2-binding adaptor protein
CCL3 SLC2A14 NDRG1 VCX VCX-C VCX3A GJB2 MS4A7 RBBP9 ZFYVE26 DHRS9 RBM17 FARP1 CCDC26 CD47 MEF2D CCDC136 CXCL10 CENPE MS4A7 KIF20A TXNIP C5orf29
function
p value
fold change
antioxidant hypotensive and vasodilatator agent inflammation inflammation cell growth inhibition intracellular iron storage p53-dependent G1 phase arrest intracellular iron storage intracellular iron storage glucose transport death ligand oxidative stress intracellular iron storage intracellular iron storage cytokine oxidative stress represses ETS1-mediated transcription
0 0.0000002 0 0 0.0000017 0.0000002 0 0.0000012 0.0000187 0.0000018 0 0.0000005 0.0000399 0.0002126 0 0 0.0000005
8.8 4.0 3.7 3.5 3.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1
HIV-suppressive factor glucose transport p53-mediated caspase activation/apoptosis
0.0000003 0.0000044 0.0000098 0.0000004 0.0000005 0.0000001 0.0000094 0.0000163 0.0002341 0.0000159 0.0000457 0.0000303 0.0000568 0.0003167 0.0016747 0.0001738 0.0005653 0.0045669 0.001486 0.0002341 0.0005729 0.0252104 0.0003523
2.1 2.0 2.0 -2.0 -1.9 -1.9 -1.8 -1.7 -1.7 -1.7 -1.7 -1.6 -1.6 -1.6 -1.6 -1.5 -1.5 -1.5 -1.5 -1.5 -1.5 -1.5 -1.5
cell-to-cell channel for ion/small molecules transfer monocyte maturation resistance to TGF-β1 growth inhibition retinoic acid biosynthesis sickle cell anemia membrane transport/signal transduction transcription factor immune cell migration G2-phase motor protein monocyte maturation oxidative stress mediator transmembrane protein
a U-937 cells were treated with DNQ (350 nM) or 0.2% DMSO for 6 h, at which time the mRNA was isolated and the global transcriptional profile was determined. b These are different probes for the same transcript.
scriptional profiling provides strong evidence that DNQ induces the oxidative stress response, consistent with a ROS-based mechanism of cell death. To confirm that the treatment of cells with DNQ elevates heme oxygenase 1 at the protein level, a Western blot for HO-1 was performed from cells treated with 0.5 or 1.0 µM DNQ for 6 h. As shown in Figure 4A, DNQ treatment elevated HO-1 protein levels in U-937 cells, an effect that could be substantially prevented by co-treatment with the antioxidant NAC. The induction of antioxidant genes encoding HO-1 and the ferritins is likely in response to cellular ROS generated upon treatment of cells with DNQ. It has been noted that oxidative stress can activate the heat shock response (HSR) expression pathway and upregulate HSP-70.56,59,71 Thus, HSP-70 protein levels in cells treated with DNQ were analyzed by Western blot. Both DNQ and elesclomol caused an increase in HSP-70 levels in U-937 cells (Figure 4B), consistent with oxidative stress-mediated upregulation of HSP70. Common biological properties of anthracycline-type compounds similar in structure to DNQ include cell cycle arrest in (71) Burdon, R. H.; Gill, V. M.; Rice-Evans, C. Free Rad. Res. Commun. 1987, 3, 129–139.
Figure 4. DNQ treatment enhances the levels of proteins involved in the
oxidative stress response. U-937 cells were treated with DNQ and control compounds, and the lysates were then probed by Western blot. (A) Western blot for HO-1. (B) Western blot for HSP-70.
the S or G2/M phases, DNA binding, and topoisomerase inhibition.34,72-74 Thus, various in Vitro and cell-based assays were performed to determine the importance of these mechanisms in cell death mediated by DNQ. J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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Figure 6. (A) Ethidium bromide displacement assay reveals large differences between DNQ and doxorubicin. Ethidium bromide was preincubated with herring sperm DNA prior to compound addition. Fluorescence was measured 30 min after compound addition. Error bars represent the standard deviation of the mean, n ) 3. (B) DNQ does not inhibit topoisomerase II in Vitro. Topoisomerase II was added to a solution of catenated DNA, ATP, and compound in assay buffer, and the reactions were allowed to proceed for 30 min at 37 °C. Products were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis.
Figure 5. (A) DNQ treatment leads to arrest of cells in the G1-phase of the cell cycle, while (B) doxorubicin treatment leads to S-phase arrest. HL60 cells were treated with the indicated concentrations of compound (or DMSO control) for 6 h, at which point DNA levels were analyzed by propidium iodide staining. Error bars represent standard deviation of the mean, n ) 3.
Cell Cycle Arrest. Modes of cell death may be broadly categorized by their effects on the progression of actively dividing cells through the cell cycle. For example, DNA damaging agents and microtubule disrupters or stabilizers frequently arrest cells in the mitosis (M) phase, whereas compounds that inhibit DNA synthesis or replication arrest in the synthesis (S) phase. Gene expression analysis of DNQ revealed the elevation of several transcripts related to p53dependent pathways and G0/G1 cell cycle regulation (CDKN1A, CCL3L3, CCL3, NDRG1, OKL38). The down-regulation of G2/ M-associated motor kinesin transcripts was also observed (CENPE and KIF20A, Table 3). The effect of DNQ on cell cycle progression was measured by treating HL-60 cells with DNQ for 6 h (Figure 5A). Consistent with the transcript profiling results, DNQ caused significant cell cycle arrest in the G1-phase. In contrast, DOX-treated cells exhibited weak G2/M-phase arrest at low concentrations and a pronounced S-phase arrest at higher concentrations (Figure 5B). (72) Gewirtz, D. A. Biochem. Pharmacol. 1999, 57, 727–741. (73) Hazlehurst, L. A.; Krapcho, A. P.; Hacker, M. P. Cancer Lett. 1995, 91, 115–124. (74) Potter, A. J.; Rabinovitch, P. S. Mutat. Res. 2005, 572, 27–44. 5476
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DNA Interaction. The capacity of DNQ to interact with DNA was assessed using an ethidium bromide displacement assay;75,76 DOX and 9-aminoacridine (9-AA) were also evaluated for comparison. Double-stranded DNA was preincubated with ethidium bromide in buffer before compound addition (final DMSO concentration, 5%). After 30 min the competition reached equilibrium and the fluorescence was measured. As shown in Figure 6A, DOX has a very strong effect in this assay, while DNQ has a much weaker effect. Considering the nearly equipotent cellular toxicity of DOX and DNQ, these data are consistent with the notion that DNA binding is not of primary importance in the antineoplastic action of DNQ. Topoisomerase II Inhibition. The ability of DNQ to inhibit topoisomerase II in Vitro was evaluated using a decatenation assay77,78 and compared to the known topoisomerase II inhibitors DOX and etoposide. For this assay, catenated DNA was incubated at 37 °C for 30 min in a buffer containing purified topoisomerase II, ATP, and various concentrations of compound in DMSO. As shown in Figure 6B, DOX completely inhibited the topoisomerase II reaction at 10 µM, while DNQ showed (75) Snyder, R. D. Mutat. Res. 1998, 411, 235–248. (76) Baguley, B. C.; Falkenhaug, E. M. Nucleic Acids Res. 1978, 5, 161– 171. (77) Palchaudhuri, R.; Hergenrother, P. J. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 2007, 18, 497–503. (78) Haldane, A.; Sullivan, D. M. Topoisomerase II-Catalyzed DNA Decatenation. In DNA Topoisomerase Protocols Part 2: Enzymology and Drugs; Osheroff, N., Bjornsti, M.-A., Eds.; Humana Press: Totowa, NJ, 2001; pp 13-24.
Chemistry and Biology of Deoxynyboquinone
virtually no inhibition at this concentration; the aqueous solubility of DNQ precluded its evaluations at higher concentrations. These data, together with the transcriptional profiling, cell cycle arrest, and DNA interaction assay results, support the notion that DNQ-mediated death does not involve mechanisms common to anthracycline-type compounds. Discussion
The facile synthesis of DNQ described herein has allowed for the comprehensive biological evaluation of this interesting antineoplastic agent. As shown by cytotoxicity assays (Tables 1 and 2, Figure 3), DNQ induces death of cancer cells in culture with potencies on par with the front-line anticancer drug doxorubicin and the experimental therapeutic elesclomol. Among compounds evaluated that are believed to induce death predominantly through a ROS-based mechanism of action, DNQ and elesclomol are by far the most potent and respond the most strongly to NAC and hypoxia. These latter results suggest that DNQ and elesclomol most directly cause death by ROS production and not by other mechanisms. However, despite these commonalities, the mechanisms by which these compounds produce superoxide appear to be very different. Elesclomol, a clinically promising anticancer agent,79 is believed to produce ROS through the chelation of copper and facilitation of copper redox, resulting in superoxide formation.80,81 In contrast, DNQ appears to induce death in cancer cells through rapid redox cycling of the quinone, a process that directly generates superoxide. ESR measurements of live cells minutes after treatment with DNQ indicate the presence of a semiquinone.38 Semiquinones are, in general, not detected until all the oxygen in the cell has been consumed through redox cycling;36 thus, the semiquinone of DNQ must be remarkably stable. To the best of our knowledge, DNQ is the most potent antineoplastic agent that operates predominantly through this direct ROS generation, bioreduction mechanism. Additional evidence for the role of ROS in DNQ-mediated cell death was uncovered by global transcript profiling. As shown by the transcript profiles of a number of agents, oxidative stress results in the upregulation of genes related to three pathways: the oxidative stress response (NRF2),82 the heat shock response,71 and metallothioneins.83,84 Small molecules that induce oxidative stress (arsenic trioxide,59,85,86 menadione,87 (79) O’Day, S.; Gonzalez, R.; Lawson, D.; Weber, R.; Hutchins, L.; Anderson, C.; Haddad, J.; Kong, S.; Williams, A.; Jacobson, E. J. Clin. Oncol. 2009, 27, 5452–5458. (80) Nagai, M.; Vho, N.; Kostik, E.; He, S.; Kepros, J.; Ogawa, L. S.; Inoue, T.; Blackman, R. K.; Wada, Y.; Barsoum, J. Presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, Boston, MA, Nov 15-19, 2009, Abstract TARG09-C11; Mol. Cancer Therapeutics 2009, 8, C11 (81) Chow, S.; Nagai, M.; He, S.; Blackman, R. K.; Barsoum, J.; Vukovic, V.; Hedley, D. Presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, LA, Dec 5-8, 2009; Abstract 2736; Blood 2009, 114, 2736. (82) Nguyen, T.; Sherratt, P. J.; Pickett, C. B. Annu. ReV. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 2003, 43, 233–260. (83) Kumari, M. V.; Hiramatsu, M.; Ebadi, M. Free Rad. Res. 1998, 29, 93–101. (84) Andrews, G. K. Biochem. Pharmacol. 2000, 59, 95–104. (85) Burnichon, V.; Jean, S.; Bellon, L.; Maraninchi, M.; Bideau, C.; Orsie`re, T.; Margotat, A.; Ge´rolami, V.; Botta, A.; Berge´-Lefranc, J.-L. Toxicol. Lett. 2003, 143, 155–162. (86) Morales, A. A.; Gutman, D.; Cejas, P. J.; Lee, K. P.; Boise, L. H. J. Biol. Chem. 2009, 284, 12886–12895. (87) Chuang, Y.-Y. E.; Chen, Y.; Gadisetti; Chandramouli, V. R.; Cook, J. A.; Coffin, D.; Tsai, M.-H.; DeGraff, W.; Yan, H.; Zhao, S.; Russo, A.; Liu, E. T.; Mitchell, J. B. Cancer Res. 2002, 62, 6246–6254.
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hydrogen peroxide,87,88 tert-butyl peroxide,87 elesclomol,56 motexafin gadolinium89,90) generally activate one or more of these pathways. The transcript profiling data presented suggest that DNQ strongly activates the NRF2 pathway, resulting in upregulation of transcription from genes such as HMOX1 and many ferritins which are downstream of antioxidant response elements. Western blot analysis demonstrates that DNQ also activates the HSR pathway, resulting in upregulation of HSP70. Finally, experimental evidence indicates that common targets of planar polycyclic compounds (such as the anthracyclines, acridines, and ethidium bromide) are of minimal importance in DNQ-mediated toxicity, as DNQ-treated cells show a lack of S- or G2/M-phase arrest, no topoisomerase II inhibition, and minimal DNA intercalation. At least three important findings are derived from the experiments described herein: (1) A facile synthetic route to DNQ has been developed that can be used to produce large quantities of the compound for animal testing and is flexible enough to allow for derivative synthesis. (2) The data strongly indicate that ROS is a direct cause, rather than a downstream effect, of DNQ-induced cell death. (3) DNQ is considerably more potent than other compounds that generate ROS through a bioreduction process. Direct ROS formation is an anticancer strategy that has generated much interest and success. However, most compounds that act through a ROS-generating mechanism (with the exception of elesclomol) are only moderately potent, with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. As shown by the data in Table 1 and Figure 3, elesclomol and DNQ are both quite potent to multiple cancer cell lines under normoxic conditions. However, under conditions of hypoxia (1% O2), DNQ is still able to kill cancer cells in culture, whereas elesclomol is almost completely ineffective. These data suggest that even under low oxygen conditions, the DNQ semiquinone is able to convert molecular oxygen to superoxide. This trait has potential translational value, as hypoxic environments are found in the interior of many solid tumors.53 In conclusion, a modern and modular synthetic route to DNQ has allowed for the full investigation of the activity of this compound versus cancer cells in culture. Notably, we find that DNQ has a potency that rivals doxorubicin in cell culture, with the added benefit of being effective against a doxorubicinresistant cell line. Transcript profiling and other data strongly indicate that DNQ induces death through ROS generation and oxidative stress, and it is considerably more potent than other compounds that act through this mechanism. Importantly, DNQ provides a complement to elesclomol, as both compounds induce ROS and are potent antineoplastic agents, but through very different mechanisms. Thus, with these two compounds there is now an opportunity to probe the relative importance of oneelectron bioreduction versus copper chelation for the formation of cytotoxic ROS. Given the documented elevation in ROS levels in many tumor types, especially those cancers with few treatment options such as melanoma and pancreas carcinoma, the continued exploration of the therapeutic utility of ROS generators is critical. DNQ is an important addition to the repertoire of compounds used to study ROS generation as a (88) Desaint, S.; Luriau, S.; Aude, J.-C.; Rousselet, G.; Toledano, M. B. J. Biol. Chem. 2004, 279, 31157–31163. (89) Magda, D.; Lecane, P.; Miller, R. A.; Lepp, C.; Miles, D.; Mesfin, M.; Biaglow, J. E.; Ho, V. V.; Chawannakul, D.; Nagpal, S.; Karaman, M. W.; Hacia, J. G. Cancer Res. 2005, 65, 3837–3845. (90) Lecane, P. S.; Karaman, M. W.; Sirisawad, M.; Naumovski, L.; Miller, R. A.; Hacia, J. G.; Magda, D. Cancer Res. 2005, 65, 11676–11688. J. AM. CHEM. SOC.
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strategy for treatment of cancer and has potential as a novel anticancer agent. Acknowledgment. We thank Dr. Karson S. Putt (UIUC) for initial work on DNQ. This research was supported by the University of Illinois. We acknowledge Dr. Justin Lamb (Broad Institute) for advice regarding experimental design of transcript profiling experiments for comparison to the Connectivity Map Database. We thank the W. M. Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for performing
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the gene transcript profiling and preliminary data processing. We thank the W. M. Keck Cell Flow Cytometry facility at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Supporting Information Available: Supporting figures, spectral data for all new compounds, full experimental protocols, and complete ref 63. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org. JA100610M
